Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 04/2014

Climate Change Resilience: The case of Haiti

Bhawan Singh, Marc J. Cohen

March 2014

Oxfam Publishing

Abstract

Haiti has long faced severe natural and human-created hazards due to its location in the Caribbean hurricane zone and to widespread deforestation. Hazards including storms, floods, and droughts have highly destructive impacts on buildings, land, water, livestock, and people in Haiti. The poorest Haitians, including low-income women, children, and elderly people, are especially vulnerable. The prospects for building Haiti’s resilience to climate change are closely tied to post-earthquake reconstruction. As Haiti prepares for more disasters and rebuilds significant parts of its infrastructure, there is a real opportunity to integrate climate resilience into these efforts. This report analyses Haiti’s adaptive capacity, adaptation options, and finance and governance issues. It makes recommendations on resilience building and identifies climate-change adaptation needs and opportunities.